Hotel des Rois
by RiverSong'sDaughter
Summary: As Clint and Natasha's partnership began to fall apart Fury reassigned Natasha so Steve was now her new partner and their latest mission as an undercover engaged couple may lead to their friendship being reevaluated StevexNatasha/Black WidowxCatain America
1. Chapter 1

I looked up to the hand that was offered to me and looked at the man who had offered it to me as I took it, of course it was Steve. He pulled me up effortlessly and despite knowing what I was capable of, a hint of worry in his eyes as I put the back of my hand up to my split lip and mumbled, "Thanks" and looking away quickly, not wanting to keep eye contact for too long. Normally I hated being touched at all but to turn down Steve doing his gentlemanly duties was to insult him so I let him help me up. I looked around the suburban battleground, Tony and Bruce were talking and laughing over our latest victory, Thor was preparing to go and see Jane and Clint was inspecting his bow and remaining arrows. Things had been uneasy between Clint and I ever since New York. I thought things were better between us but he flinched every time I touched him and tensed when I entered the room. Unfortunately this hadn't gone unnoticed by Director Fury. Knowing that our insecurities with each other were starting to affect our effectiveness as a team he had started to send me on missions with each of the other guys. Tony disregarded any orders I gave and although things usually turned out Fury didn't want to take the chance, Thor had a very unique style of working which was to say his entrances made covert operations impossible, Bruce and I worked well together but he thought that since being trapped when he had turned into the Hulk on the Helicarrier that I was hesitant about working with him. I worked best with Steve as Fury had seen in New York and so had decided as of yesterday that we were to be partners which made Clint furious. However that was not my problem, my problem was trying to make sure that things ran smoothly with Steve and unfortunately his shyness outside of battle when we were alone was not helping things. I looked around at my team mates, men who despite myself and my training were now my friends, I had once thought I would never trust my life to anyone, it was hard enough with Barton, but now there were five men that would all take a bullet for me. One by one the rest of the Avengers departed Tony and Bruce back to Stark Tower, Thor to see Jane and Hawkeye got in a car and drove off to get his next mission after taking a long look and Steve and I standing next to each other. I watched as Steve put his hand up to the side of his head as he received orders before he turned to me, "Fury says that we will be picked up in about two minutes and will be taken back to the Helicarrier to receive a new mission" said Steve. I simply nodded, not one for being social. But as I turned away I saw something on the Captain's uniform and focusing on it I saw that Steve had something sticking out of his side. "Uh Steve you have something" I said as a pointed to the shrapnel, "Hmm?" said Steve as he followed my hand to where I was pointing, "Oh" he said and pulled it out. What had seemed to be a small piece of something turned out to be a piece of metal the size of a playing card but before I could do anything the jet landed and we got on board. I took a seat and Steve went to hold onto a rail on the roof and winced slightly I saw everything even though he tried to hide it, "Come over here" I said before grabbing a bandage from the first aid kit on the wall. He was about to object but I just looked at him and he sat down next to me, "Right, shirt off" I said when I saw the rip in his uniform was soaked in blood. Steve looked up alarmed but I looked at him again and he knew he would have to swallow his modesty and took off his helmet before removing the top part of his uniform. His muscles moving and constricting in pain as he had to raise his arms. The wound was bad and the cut went really deep but I knew that he had already started to heal. I went through the motions of cleaning and dressing the wound, in deep concentration but I could see Steve watching me the whole time. Once I had wrapped him up I looked up and he blinked, realising he had been staring and blushed slightly. The ghost of a smile touched my face but was gone instantly, "You'll need to get that checked when we get back but they won't do much more considering how fast you're healing". The Cap shrugged, still a little embarrassed, "Yeah it's a side effect of the serum" he said shyly. His awkwardness was endearing and made me calm because it was something that was so simple and her life was always so complicated, "Pretty good side effect, I heal fast but this is impressive," I said trying to keep up the light hearted banter, indulging in the moment. Steve relaxed a bit and smiled a bit but it was short lived as the pilot turned around and informed us we had arrived. The Cap stood up trying to get his uniform done up again, blushing when he realised how long he had been shirtless for but he winced as he tried to pull it back on. I put on hand on his arm and helped him pull on his sleeve; his skin was incredibly warm and quickly covered in goosebumps when I touched him. I then did it up and he smiled appreciatively, "Thankyou" he said being the perfect gentleman.

Once we were off the jet and inside the Helicarrier we weren't given any time and were to report immediately to the command room. Steve and I made our way to the room and when we entered Fury walked up to meet us immediately, "Right you two have a seat, you have a new mission." He said as we walked over to the table. "Agent Romanoff you and Captain Rodgers will be going undercover for two weeks to infiltrate an arms organisation that is meant to be connected somehow to Hydra." He said sliding files along the table towards us. "You are to find out if they are in fact a Hydra affiliate and if so try to glean as much intelligence as possible. If you find anything that will require you to investigate further your mission will be extended, any questions?" Fury finished. I looked over at Steve and he looked up from the page of the file he had been skimming, "What is our cover?" he seriously, obviously eager to start given the Hydra connection. "You are to be an engaged couple. The specs on your relationship are all in the file," he turned to me, "Agent Romanoff you will take the Captain through all of the basics. If that is all you are to go and pack immediately you are being flown out in twenty minutes." Fury finished before turning and going back to his station.


	2. Chapter 2

Steve was a little paler than usual when he heard we were to be a couple but we both nodded to each other before picking up our files and heading to our quarters. Once I got back to my room I sat on my bed and read through the basics of the report. We were to be positioned in the Hotel de Rois in New Orleans and were meant to be very affectionate and over the top but must make them think we are ambitious and try to find out who they work for. I was going to fine but Steve was another matter. I read through the reports further before grabbing my packed bag and heading for the deck.

I met up with Steve on the deck and we walked to the jet that would take us to an airport so we could catch a private jet to New Orleans, so as not to raise suspicion. We were handed to packages containing all of our new identification and sat down for the flight. We sat in silence as we read through the rest of our information and looked through our identification. I was to be Natalie Danvers and Steve was Steve Foster. We were very much in love and were about to be married, we were wealthy from running drugs and weapons on the black market but it was new money so we loved buying materialistic things. We were to fly in on a private jet and would be staying in the presidential suite at the hotel. Our main meeting would be the night after we arrived. The room we were to stay in was bugged and S.H.I.E.L.D planned to leave it that way as they liked to let the targets think they had the upper hand. I could see Steve was nervous about having to fake a relationship with me and I was apprehensive as to how he would cope but when we landed and got aboard the plane he seemed to have relaxed a little or at least stated to get used to the idea.

As soon as the seat belt sign flicked off we both undid our belts and Steve stood up and stretched.

"We need to get started soon" I said to Steve and he visibly tensed.

"Look why don't you sit down and relax we just need to go through a few things, just to see where we're at," I said and he sat down and nodded, relaxing only a little.

"Right when we get there we are going to walk into the hotel, you are going to have your hand around my waist, okay?" I said looking into his eyes, he looked back at me and nodded,

"You will need to be receptive to everything I do, if I do something you need to be seamless in accepting what I do and try to extend upon it if you can. So if I hold your hand, you need to kiss me on the cheek or put your hand around my waist. We need to be touching in some way as much possible. Forget your personal space, when we sit down if on a couch for instance you will put your arm me, if you cross your legs cross them towards me and make sure to look at me every thirty seconds if not sooner. Do you have all of that?" I asked making sure I hadn't gone to fast,

"I think so. I just need to respond to whatever you and make sure our actions are as intimate as possible and my reaction has to be perfect." He said trying to talk as if he was receiving tactical orders instead of information on how to act that went against everything he was raised with.

"It will get easier and if you feel nervous at any time you need to tell me but you need to be as affectionate as possible ok?" I asked trying to put him at ease. He merely nodded and rubbed his hands together.

"Right so if we have to go out clubbing, I know you have gone with Tony but all you need to do is follow my lead and make sure that we are touching all of the time." We ran through possible scenarios and Steve relaxed a bit more with each scenario. About half an hour later the pilot came over the intercom and told us we would be landing in about five minutes. We put on our seatbelts when the light flashed and I turned to Steve,

"The mission begins when we step off this plane, there will be people watching so you will need to be ready." I said hoping beyond all hopes he would pull through. "I can do it Natasha" he said more for himself than for me. Once we landed we removed our belts and we stood. I grabbed his hand and his warmth ran up my arm, I nodded at him and he nodded at me and we made our way to the door.

We made it down the steps me giggling and Steve attempting to keep up, I thought he wasn't going to be able to do it at first but then he took a deep breath and slid his arm around my waist more so than would be considered gentlemanly and I put my arm around his waist, my hand in his back jean pocket. And I smiled; he was going to be fine if he could keep up. We walked over to the car that was waiting and before we got in I stood on my tip toes so as to reach his ear and whispered,

"That was almost perfect now you need to smile like I just told you something I shouldn't have in public" and withdrew biting my lip suggestively and seeing Steve with a smug smile on his face. Once in the car Steve sat with his arm around me and was whispering in my ear about how heavily armed the guards are and I giggled and blushed looking up at the driver before looking at our hands and taking his hand in mine and rubbing his thumb before turning and leaning up to his ear,

"When we get to the hotel don't call me Natasha, and whatever you do," I said as I put my hand on his inner thigh and his breath hitched in his throat and he paled slightly, "don't forget that we are engaged and young, and don't be afraid of public displays, that is an integral part of our cover." I finished kissing his jaw line and I saw his eyes close and I whispered,

"Perfect" as I trailed kisses along his jaw. The car then arrived at the hotel and by the looks of things saving Steve as he bolted from the car before the driver could open the door, I smiled, I really shouldn't like teasing him everyone else already does but how he had his arm around my waist earlier, he obviously could give as good as he got and if I loved anything it was a challenge and to get him to tease me would make the greatest challenge. I got out of the car slowly making sure that he saw a bit of cleavage in the tight black dress I was wearing as I took the hand he offered and whispered once more,

"This entrance is incredibly important this will make or break our cover so you'll have to sell it" I came down off my tip toes and he put his arm around me waist again pulling me close to his side and sliding his hand down so that some of his fingers were just trailing a bit lower than would be considered waist territory. We walked confidently into the hotel me giggling, Steve chuckling. We made our way to the counter and Steve sighed,

"Foster for the Presidential Suite," he said looking at me longingly and took my hand. We were given the key and headed for the elevator, once inside Steve pushed a button and pulled me close and I wrapped my hands around his neck as the doors closed. As soon as they did we parted and the smiles fell from our faces,

"Right that was just right and with any hope they bought it," and then I looked at him and saw how uncomfortable he was, "You are doing great Steve" I said hoping he saw that I was being truthful,

"Natasha I just want to apologise, you know that I wouldn't act this way if the mission didn't call for it I am merely trying to do my job" he said spiralling into embarrassment,

"Steve" I said loudly cutting him off, "This is what we do I know this isn't you but I don't take offence and neither should you so stop ok, you are doing your job and surprisingly well and I can't think of a better partner for this mission." and with that the elevator doors and were back to being engaged.


	3. Chapter 3

We made our way to the door holding hands and when we were at the door I looked in his eyes and he got the message, we weren't doing enough. I looked at him asking permission with my eyes before pulling him so that he had me against the door to our suite and was nuzzling our neck,

"Steve, don't" I said giggling and I pulled the key card from his hand and he put both hands on my waist, his head stooped, lost in my hair. I pushed the key in the lock and we went tumbling into the room laughing. But then Steve stopped and I saw why he was looking at the bed with a horror struck face,

"What's wrong honey?" I asked sweetly, he looked at me and then remembered the cameras and the importance of this mission,

"Just imagining my mother if she realised where we are and what she would do if she saw we were sharing a bed," he said,

"Well," I said taking slow steps towards him, stepping out of my heels in the process,

"Good thing she isn't here right now and I wrapped my arms around his neck hoping he would play along, he did. He picked me up and I let out a small sound of surprise before covering it with laughter and then I wrapped my legs around his waist and he carried me towards the bed as I took off his jacket. He threw me onto the bed and crawled up next to me, and then he stopped and rested on his elbows and he just looked at me. My breathing slowed as I looked back at him and he moved a piece of hair from my face. The look in his eyes wasn't like before in the lobby or in the car this was different, this was sincere. I put my hand up and caressed his cheek and he leaned into my hand and I began to draw his face to mine and his eyes began to close, and then there was a knock at the door and his eyes fluttered open and he sighed before jumping off the bed to answer the door. I leant my head back against the pillows and put a hand to my head. What the hell was that? I asked myself. We were strictly professional; there was light teasing just to see if I could get to him but what had happened then and what would have happened, that didn't seem like the cover. That seemed sincere, real even. And before I knew it Steve was walking back to the bed and I sat up. He sat down next to me,

"What was that?" I asked putting his hair back into place,

"A message, about our meeting they have had to push it back to the night after, it's at a club called Ramone's." said Steve and before I could ask anything further he said,

"I'm taking you out for lunch, grab your coat," he said helping me off the bed,

"Where to?" I asked slipping back to fiancé mode, "Surprise" said Steve before grabbing his coat off the floor and opening the door for me.

We ended up at a small café with little booths and were sitting next to each other. We ordered and Steve was about to move away from me before I put my hand on his arm and whispered in his ear,

"By the bar," and he looked up and saw the man that had positioned himself so he could see us perfectly and Steve moved even closer and turned so that the man couldn't see what we were saying,

"Well these people are thorough, I'll give them that" and I agreed and was about to suggest we leave soon after our meal when my phone started to ring,

"Agent Romanoff, what is your status?" asked Fury,

"Who is it?" asked Steve and then we saw that the man had gotten up and was going to a table near us, presumably so he could hear who I was talking to,

"Oh hey Judy" I said putting my hand over the phone,

"It's your mom" I said,

"So are you being followed?" asked Fury,

"Yeah, we are" I said keeping a light tone,

"What is she calling about?" asked Steve lightly,

"Oh just the wedding" I said smiling,

"You have both audio and visual in your room, so you will need to take you cover to the next level, break it to the Captain gently, he isn't going to like it." Said Fury,

"Okay Judy, I'll tell him" I said trying to keep the smile on my face, this wasn't going to be easy.

"The camera is placed in the light fixture in the lounge area so you can probably get away with a lot of it, good luck Agent Romanoff" said Fury

"Oh Judy" I said before he hung up, "Looks like you'll have to push back the appointment with the florist a day because we are staying an extra day" I said hoping he would get the message,

"We had our suspicions that they would change the meeting time, you guys really need to step it up a notch because there are obviously still hesitant" and with that he hung up,

"Okay then Judy good to hear from you too, ok, bye" I said before hanging up and putting the phone away. I smiled at Steve,

"She didn't want to talk to me?" asked Steve,

"Hmm? Oh no she was just calling quickly but she did ask me to tell you a few things," I said,

"What things?" asked Steve his brow furrowing slightly "Don't worry I'll tell you later" and thankfully at that point the waitress came with our orders and we were occupied by our lunch. Steve paid the bill with a S.H.I.E.L.D. card and we were one our way to get some clothes for the meeting tomorrow night.

"We have to what?" said Steve loudly in the clothing store. I shushed him and grabbed another dress and another shirt for him and pushed him into a large change room,

"Fury said the room was bugged for both audio and visual so we had to sell our cover, I didn't choose this Steve so don't blame me, now I understand you feel uncomfortable but- Can you unzip me please?" I said turning around and I felt one large hand on my back as he pulled down the zipper and I could feel his eyes running down my back. I pulled the shoulder straps off and was about to take off the dress when he turned around quickly, I stopped and passed him the shirt,

"At least try this on" I said and he grabbed the shirt before I continued to undress and continued speaking, "I know you feel uncomfortable but you need to get used to this Steve because over the next two weeks things are going to get a lot more uncomfortable for you and I know that you know we can't screw this up so you need to get used to me and fast. I said pulling the dress I had picked up I turned to see him take off his shirt and saw that at some point he had removed the bandages I had put on and now all that was left of his wound from earlier today was a large red scar. His large back muscles rippled as he pulled the shirt over my head and began to button it up and then he turned around. I caught myself before he saw and turned and asked him to zip me up when I looked in the mirror I was happy considering it would be appropriate for the cover and when I turned to him his draw actually slackened. His eyes racked over my figure in the tight gold dress and then he tore them away from me when he realised what he was doing. I walked up to him in the dark purple shirt and undid two buttons and fixed it so that he actually looked like he was from this decade and was a young guy looking to have fun.

"Right then, this will do just fine, now tonight we can say we are tired but you will still have to be in the same bed as me and we will have to do more than just sleep eventually." I said trying to be as gentle as was physically possible for me and I saw in his eyes that it still was a bit harsh so I looked him straight in the eye and said,

"This is all to get to Hydra Steve, Hydra now you need to focus" I said and I knew that what I had said had been the right kind of harsh because he set his jaw and nodded,

"Yes ma'am" he said and I smiled slightly. Once out of the Change room we bought a few things and went back to the car that had driven us around town the whole day. We stopped off for dinner and with the man still following us we kept the talking strictly to wedding and annoying pet names. Once we returned to the suite Steve went to brush his teeth and I put away the clothes we had bought and grabbed what we would wear tonight. When he returned from the bathroom where he had obviously had to psych himself up, I threw him some pyjama pants and gave him a stern look so he knew that was all he could wear and then went to use the bathroom. I came out in a t-shirt shorts and climbed under the covers before I rolled over and said,

"I am really tired Steve sorry" I said, god this was awkward, "No, no I am too, goodnight honey" he said before turning out the light.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys thanks for showing interest and thankyou for the reviews, they keep me writing. Enjoy.**

The next day was relatively uneventful we went out to lunch and dinner and did some sight-seeing. I continued to tease him all day hoping he would react in some way like he had at the store but no such luck he remained rather stone faced all day and I was going to have to change that. Fury said we needed to take things up a notch and Steve was refusing and I knew I would have to persuade him and I hated using my training on my co-workers. That night when Steve came out from the bathroom he was getting into his pyjama bottoms when I went into the bathroom. When I emerged in nothing but a black lacy nightie Steve's eye nearly shot out from his head. He was lying on the bed and I went and got under the covers, he then did to and I snuggled up next to him. He was lying on his back, eyes on the ceiling trying to remain polite given the circumstance he was in at the moment. His arm was behind my head and I rolled over onto my elbows so I was looking at him and when he still didn't look at me I stretched one arm across and was drawing shapes on his tense outstretched bicep and rested my chest against his to that I was partially lying on him. His breath caught in his throat and he stopped breathing, going incredibly pale but he still refused to look at me so I began to kiss his chest leading up to his neck. He closed his eyes and the arm that I was tracing patterns on tensed even more to as he gripped the bed like he was going to fall off, and as I made my way up his neck I reached his ear and whispered "React Steve or don't you like me?" I said teasing him, kissing his neck with a smile and then he had enough of all of the teasing I had given him all day. Fast as lightning he slid his arms around my back and flipped me over and I had a sharp intake of breath in surprise, and not much catches me off guard, and then kissed me fiercely. His lips were hard against mine before I opened my mouth and we were both kissing each other madly. The kiss was unlike any other I had ever experienced, possibly because it was Steve. The serum just made him more in so many ways and that he and I had both had something was definitely making the kiss more than human, just like us. But what shocked the most was that Steve didn't stop, he didn't regain his gentleman qualities, he kept kissing me and soon he was pulling at my nightie and when he couldn't get it off me fast enough he ripped it and I didn't even notice as I unlocked my fingers from his hair and tugged at his pyjama bottoms and very soon we were lost to each other.

I slowly opened my eyes the next morning to a light room from sunlight streaming through the windows and a warm body against me. I opened my eyes enough so they could focus and I saw that my head and chest were resting on Steve's chest and his arm was around me and his hand was splayed out protectively over my back and when I looked up I saw that he was fast asleep. I was about to get up and sneak out when I remembered where we were. We were in the Hotel des Rois as the soon to be Mr and Mrs Steve and Natalie Foster and Steve had finally made our cover fool proof, honestly I was surprised he had broken as quickly as he did and then I thought back to how he had looked at me the other day on the bed and how the fierceness he had in his eyes last night wasn't fake, that need had seemed incredibly real. As I thought about all of this a warm feeling spread through my chest and I smiled in spite of myself and put my head back down onto his chest and for a very rare moment, she felt safe and almost complete. It seemed like only moments later she slowly opened eyes again and this time it had been to the soft fingers drawing patterns on her back and when she looked up at his face he looked back at her a slight smile on his face and something in his eyes she couldn't quite pinpoint.

"Good morning" he said softly and I took in a deep breath,

"Good morning" and I pulled up and kissed his tenderly. His hand slipped around my neck and pulled me closer before we broke off the kiss.

"What time is it?" I asked and when I saw the clock I stopped, "I have never slept this late in my life" I said when I saw that it was nearly two o'clock in the afternoon. I didn't like being in this position, yes I liked Steve and yes last night was amazing but this was not me. I didn't lie in bed in the afternoon with the man that fit the American dream with a picket fence. I am a spy and former assassin I don't lounge in bed with Captain America; if I hadn't been recruited he would be killing me right now rather than smiling down at me. But this was our cover and I had to sell it,

"Why don't we go out for lunch?" I said trying to get this moving so that I wasn't in this position for much longer.

"Sure," said Steve happily, "I'll just go and get ready," he said before getting out of bed in his boxers and going into the bathroom. I tried not to freak out as soon as he left the room as we were still being recorded but it was kinda hard not to, I had just slept with Captain America. I got out of bed and got dressed in a t-shirt, jeans and leather jacket and when Steve came out of the bathroom in a towel I stood up and kissed him gently before using the bathroom. Whilst I was in there I brushed my teeth, did my hair and splashed some cold water on my face. When I left I found Steve waiting patiently I then looped my arm through his and we left for lunch.


	5. Chapter 5

The elevator was occupied on the way down so we didn't have time to talk. It seemed like we didn't get a chance to talk about what had happened the whole day but we actually had a surprisingly good time, things weren't too awkward and we tried to keep up the charade as best we could considering we were still being followed but it wasn't too hard. A few kisses here or there and just being overly affectionate as we had the previous days but Steve was definitely more at ease with everything. When it started to get late we returned to the room, we walked through the hotel lobby happily and when we got into the elevator I slipped my arms around his neck and Steve kissed me passionately, we didn't stop when the doors closed but I had to pull away.

"Look Steve about last night," I began wanting to sort things out but then the elevator stopped and a young guy who must have been delivering room service got on and looked me up and down, checking me out. I looked over at Steve who unfortunately for the guy hadn't missed anything and put his arm protectively around my shoulders and the guy got the message loud and clear from Steve who was a head taller and he quickly averted his eyes which brought a hint of a smile to my face. We continued in awkward silence for a few more moments before the doors opened and Steve and I got out leaving the guy with a blush on his face from being caught. We walked down the hall hand in hand and when Steve opened the door we went inside and began to get ready.

Steve turned to me as we were getting dressed and I fixed his collar for him and he zipped up my dress I went and touched up my make up before coming back out and pulling on my shoes. Once I was finished Steve looked at me and his breath caught in his throat he dragged his eyes from my body and looked me in the eye before saying,

"You look stunning Nat." and I knew he meant it.

"You don't so bad yourself," I said putting my arms around his neck and pressing my lips to him but before I could break the kiss his hands went around my waist and he kissed me lovingly. I pulled away from him silently and looked him straight in the eye and saw something that I had never seen from anyone before, love. And as soon as I realised what it was I pulled away, "Are you ready? I think its time we should go," and from the looks of things Steve didn't think anything was out of the ordinary and grabbed his things before we headed to the door and he pulled it shut behind us.

Once in the club with the music blaring we surveyed the people. Most were young and all dancing, there were a few men that had come after a long day at work and were looking for some company that wouldn't mind the wedding rings on their fingers, there were the locals and the tourists but in amongst it all Steve and I spotted at least four men that were sent by the people we were meeting. One spotted us and lifted his hand to his ear and spoke, alerting the others of our arrival. So as not to stand out I pulled Steve by the hand onto the dance floor and we began to dance like those around us, me doing most of the work as Steve wasn't used to the music or how to dance. At first he wasn't sure how to react and tried to keep up but I knew he was struggling so I took his hands and put them on my hips and turned so I had my back to him so that I could see the door and we swayed to the music, our hips as close as possible. Steve was still blushing furiously which made me smile but then I caught myself and went back to faking. As the music began to change I turned and put my hands around his neck and he rested his forehead on mine but we still kept up with the fast beat of the club music. We stayed like that for and after a while the music seemed to drown out and even though we were still surrounded by people all jumping and swaying to the music we seemed to forget about them. I opened my eyes at that moment into Steve's deep blue ones that were again full of love and this time instead of running away from it and from him I put my hand around the back of his warm neck and pulled his lips down to mine. And in that moment I experienced something I had never experienced, and even though we were on a mission and could be killed at any moment, I felt peace. For once in my life I felt at peace with myself and…whole. Nothing and everything mattered; I was in tune with myself and lost to myself at the same time. I could feel everything around me but it all seemed numb except or Steve's lips on him and his hands on my body keeping me grounded. It was at that moment Steve was tapped on the shoulder and the moment shattered. We broke apart and he turned to see who had interrupted us and I caught myself. I sorted through what had happened and realised that I had let myself feel something and had lost my bearings on the situation. I had lost myself to Steve in a way that I had never given myself to anyone ever and I knew that it could never happen again and I could never allow myself to feel that way ever again and I stepped away from Steve distancing myself from him in more ways than one. When Steve turned round again he was back in his alias and I was back in mine and I felt claustrophobic and I could have kicked myself. Spies shed identities like a person sheds clothes I had gotten too comfortable but for once it wasn't as some diplomat's wife or arms dealer it was as Natasha Romanoff and that scared and infuriated me. I didn't feel things, I was a high functioning spy that felt for no one, feelings get you killed. And so when Steve turned around he was greeted with nothing but he didn't seem to notice,

"Santiago has arrived and is waiting for us at a table in the North West corner, he has three bodyguards and four men stationed around the club that came earlier to watch us so he knows how we operate, we need to approach with extreme caution if anything happens you are to leave via the kitchen and out the door into the alley behind the club," said Steve in pure tactical mode, I nodded and he remembered our cover and put his arm around my shoulders before we departed from the dance floor.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys thanks for all of the reviews and the follows, the reviews keep me writing here is another chapter i will update soon, enjoy!**

We walked up the steps to the raised level where the tables were towards the dimly lit table in the VIP area. One bodyguard gave Steve a pat-down and another was about to give me one when Steve interjected,

"Hey what are you expecting to find in that thing a bazooka, she could hide a business card let alone a weapon just leave the lady alone won't you?," said Steve as more of a warning rather than a question. The man looked back at his boss who gave him a nod before they let us pass. Alessandro Santiago was a snake of a man, he was average height and was lean but muscular, his black hair was slicked back and he had a scar running through the edge of his left eyebrow. He was dressed in a white suit and had a smile that would have sent shivers running down your arms. We had rings on every finger and alligator shoes and when he smiled his right canine was gold with a diamond in it. He shook Steve's hand as he sat down,

"Ah Mr Foster it is a pleasure to finally put a face to he name, and you must be his beautiful girlfriend, Natalie." He said an took my hand and kissed it before looking up at me, his lips and gaze lingering too long,

"Please, call me Steve and it's fiancé now," said Steve, saving me like the gentleman he was. And Santiago looked at the ring on the hand he still had in his grasp,

"But of course it is," he said and backed off a little but not much as he watched my chest as I took a seat and sat extra close to Steve. He put his arm around my shoulders and I leant into his chest and put on hand between his knees. "Now _Steve _what can I do for you and your lovely fiancé?" said Santiago glancing at my chest again, the man had not once looked me in the eye.

"Well Mr Santiago, Nat and I are wanting to get into your area of business, you see we are quite well known in Florida and along the eastern seaboard but we were hoping to expand our business and we thought that you seemed like the best and wanted to take our business in a similar dicrection to yours." Said Steve trying to sell it without sounding needy,

"Well Mr Foster you should know that my clientele is very different to that of drug dealers and hoodlums like so many are in Florida and many of those people are not to be meddled with by a boy and his cheap girl now if you will excuse me," said Santiago as he began to rise,

"Mr Santiago we may seem young and far too fresh-faced to be into the line of work such as yours however don't let that fool you, we are after a very specific clientele which we've heard you are privy to. Now, we may seem like a boy and his _cheap _girl but let me warn you that we are not to be made enemies with or underestimated as you have clearly done, as that would be very unwise on your part now are you going to run home to your empty mansion or are you going sit down so we can strike a _business _deal?" I said getting tired of his prejudice. Santiago looked rather shocked but he sat down disdainfully and waited, it was then that I signalled to bring over a briefcase we had left earlier. I took the briefcase from him and set it down on the table,

"In this case there are the codes to twelve Russian missiles that are itching to be released, it also contains the co-ordinates to six submarines all housing American intelligence. Finally it contains the blueprints for three different new weapons of mass destruction and where and who they are going to be used on. If that is does not sound promising then so be it, we will walk away and you won't hear from us however, I know that it does so you are going to contact your superiors and set up a meeting because this will go way higher than your paygrade," I finished and watched his eyes widen with each description of what was in the box, by the end his mouth was actually hanging open. When he realised that it was open and shut it immediately and tried to find words to form a response,

"What higher ups there's only me," he said stumbling over his words, I sighed at his answer,

"The people you represent are far too smart to come to the first meetings, they use you to weed out the weak candidates, you see Alessandro," I said leaning forward into the light, "Your clients are very important men, with very important agendas, they don't have time to sort with every guy that can sell a couple of Berettas on the street and decide he wants to take over the world, my fiancé and I are not looking to take over the world, we are simply looking to be a part of the downfall of the western civilisation," I finished and before Santiago could even release the whimper that had been building in his chest a man with a German accent called from another table in the shadows to Steve,

"You should have let her done all of the talking".


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey guys sorry for the shorter chapter don't worry I'll update soon, I really appreciate your reviews and please keep writing them anyway enjoy!**

My eyes narrowed as I looked through the gloom to see a figure that must have appeared sometime during our meeting for he hadn't been there when we had sat down. Upon hearing his accent Steve bristled next to me, he wasn't really a fan of Germans apart from the man that had given him the serum. We got up and walked over to the table but still couldn't see the mans face as he stayed in the shadows.

"Not American I take it?" he said gesturing for us to have a seat,

"Russian" I said taking a weary seat and letting the tiniest bit of my accent slip out,

"Of course, unfortunately Russia is not what it once was, but that is getting away from the point, do you know why I am here?" he asked in Russian,

"Dah" I replied, I was going to have to tell Steve everything after. The man waved his hand, urging me to explain,

"Well you knew who we were before we came into town, with any rudimentary connections you would have heard something, we aren't unfortunately easy to miss if you know the right people however we are starting to keep a low profile, you attended to meeting to see if we are as good as they say and of course we delivered you obviously are not in charge, you network is far too large for that however you are a lot higher up than your friend Santiago over there. Don't let me make you think we underestimated you, you knew we wouldn't be stupid enough to bring the codes however we also aren't stupid enough to come empty handed, in the case you will find the designs to the whip component prototype that Ivan Vankov made in order to defeat Tony Stark a.k.a the Iron Man. The man failed however the design was good, think of it as a gift in hopes of a successful futre business endeavour." I finished.

"What can I say, I am very impressed however you aren't very modest are you?" he said amused,

"I find a lot of the time modesty gets in the way of the truth, the facts are what they are and if they are positive I see no point in making them seem any less." I said trying not to sound stuck up, my response made what I assumed to be an old man chuckle,

"Good, modesty is for the weak, something you will come to realise that Hydra is not, you will have meetings over the next few days with various people and we shall see how we go, good night," finished the man and then it was our turn to leave. Steve and I both got up said our goodbyes and left.

We caught a cab back to the hotel this time and finally had some time to talk.

"Right so Fury wasn't expecting us to make contact that quickly and now that we know that it is Hydra, we need to be extra cautious Steve." I said trying to put this as delicately as I thought about the kiss in the club, it hadn't left my mind since it happened,

"I completely agree," said Steve still not quite sure where this was going,

"Which is why things like the kiss at the club can't happen, I think we need to keep things strictly professional between us. We need to keep our cover but we need to it just that a cover," I said quite bluntly trying to be as emotionless as possible. Steve just sat there for a moment in silence with an unreadable expression on his face before he looked me in the eye and nodded, "Yes Ma'am" he said and I knew immediately that I had hurt him, badly. I sat there for a moment fighting the very strong urge to give in but I held,

"We will need to maintain our cover however, including in the hotel room, I hope that that won't be an issue Captain Rodgers," I said trying to remain emotionless but I knew how Steve was perceiving it, I could see by the slight wince as I addressed him and used his title but when he looked up he had put up a mask,

"Of course not Agent Romanoff," he said with the same amount of emotion I had used. And just like that I had severed all chances I'd had at a relationship with Steve Rodgers, and possibly my only chance for love.


	8. Chapter 8

As the cab pulled up to the burb of the hotel Steve got out and held the door open for me being even more gentlemanly than usual uh oh. I got out of the car and linked my arm through his as we walked into the hotel and directly to the lift we kept up fairly happy faces until the lift doors closed and we parted immediately. It was deathly silent and when I snuck a look up at Steve I could see he was looking straight ahead, his face expressing nothing and it hurt to see him like that and knowing that I had caused it and I hated myself for it. Hating myself was nothing new but I hadn't felt this bad in a long time. The first time I had tortured and killed someone I had been plagued by horrible nightmares for weeks and despised myself even though I had been trained for it, I still got those nightmares sometimes however this pain and self-loathing was new. It was personal, I had done those terrible things to those people on orders, I had done this all on my own and it hated it but I didn't have time to get deeper because the doors opened and we were back to being a couple. Steve opened the door and we both entered before he shut the door behind us. I walked in and took off my heels, I had been through weeks of torture at a time at the hands of sadistic psychopathic killers but stilettos still killed my feet, they were something I had never gotten used to. We went through our routine of getting ready for bed in silence except for me asking for Steve to unzip me which to his credit he did without protesting but I could feel his eyes linger on my back and I winced. We got into bed and even though I had my head on his chest and his arm was around me everything was different. His skin wasn't quite as warm and his arm wasn't tight around me like it was before. And god I missed it. At some point we fell asleep and I had one of the worst nightmares of my life, I was back in the Helicarrier being chased but this time instead of it being the Hulk after me all I heard was Loki's menacing laugh and then the grating beneath my feet gave way and the scene changed and I had to watch each of the Avengers, each of my friends being killed by their enemies, that I was used to however this time it was Steve that was last instead of Barton and his was the most horrible. We were fighting together and then all of a sudden Steve yelled my name and he was hit by one of the flying bullets that was going to hit me and I was on my knees next to him and was crying trying to stop the bleeding whispering, "No, no, no Steve, no" over and over again and all he was saying we whispering my name over and over again and then all of a sudden I was meters away and couldn't move and I saw Red Skull himself walk up to him and Steve turned his head to me still saying my name before Red Skull lifted him up in the air by the scruff of his uniform with one hand and said gleefully, "Your precious Natasha isn't here, there is no one here to save you, you are all alone," before what seemed to be a smile spread across his vile features and he thrust his whole hand through Steve's chest and my hands flew to my mouth and I let out a bloodcurdling scream and then Red Skull himself turned and looked at me with a devilish grin on his face and then he dropped Steve and moved towards me before I was swallowed up by darkness and someone was shaking me awake.

"Nat, Nat wake up, your safe it's ok," said Steve and when I opened my eyes and when I saw him I just broke down and started crying and he was holding me. He held me for what seemed like hours until I was silent with my head back on his chest drawing patterns absent-mindedly on his stomach but then remembered the cab ride and stopped. I thought about the cab ride and my nightmare and realised that I had let Steve see me in my weakest state, I had never let anyone see me like that and despite what I had done to him he held me and assured me I was safe and for once i believed him. I couldn't do this anymore.I propped myself up on my elbow and kissed him and got nothing back, he went along with kiss but there was nothing, it was like I could feel his pain and it killed me. I broke off the kiss and pulled back to look at him, his brow was furrowed and when he opened his eyes I really saw his age for the first time. His eyes were old with pain and when he looked up at me searching my eyes I knew he was looking for something I had taken out of his reach; myself. And then I knew that even if he could do this I couldn't,

"Forget it Steve, forget what I said, I can't do this," I finally said and got up out of the bed and put my hand to my hand to my head and paced. I looked back at the bed and Steve was still lying there in shock before he jumped up and looked at me, "Forget what I said in the cab, I can't not be with you completely," and ran and jumped, wrapping my legs around him and he caught me and we were kissing and he was warm again and his arms were tight around me but then luckily one of us remembered our cover,

"What do you mean Nat?" he asked breathing heavily looking at me his eyes warm and inviting once more,

"I mean," I said smiling and taking large gulps of air, "Forget the big ceremony forget all of that, you don't want it and neither do I," I said and leaned my forehead against him closing my eyes, "Let's just elope," I said giving him two, three, four quick kisses. He tried to say something back but before he had the chance I was kissing him again and he turned, still holding on to me and lowered us onto the bed but before we got further I rolled us over and straddled him and brought him up so he was sitting and we were eye level,

"I have never felt this way about anyone before Steve, you have no idea the affect you have on me." I said running my hand through his hair and looking into his bright blue eyes and then he put his hand around my neck and gave me the most ender kiss I have ever gotten and pulled back to look in my eyes and smiles spread across both of our faces before he kissed me again and I pushed him back onto the bed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey guys sorry for the delayed upload here is another chapter, i hope you like it. Just thought i would give you a heads up considering i will be returning to school soon my upload frequency may dwindle however i will ry my hardest to make sure i publish as much as i can. Thank you for all of your reviews, they give me inspiration. Enjoy!**

The next morning I awoke I didn't feel the dread of what I may feel because it didn't matter, being with Steve was the closest I had ever come to happiness and this was all so over emotional and cheesy normally I probably would have shot something or someone by now but it is what it is so when I rolled over and the bed was empty next to me, my instincts went into overdrive. My eyes narrowed as my head whipped around as I searched the room until I reached for my gun and got out of bed not bothering to pull on any clothes, although I did wrap a towel around me that was on a nearby armchair. I made all of the necessary checks of the room noting that there were no signs of a struggle, the door hadn't been tampered with, there was nothing out of the ordinary except that Steve was missing. I grabbed my phone and saw that there were no texts and so I went to my suitcase and grabbed another gun and slid in another magazine and as I pulled back the slide the was a noise outside the door. My head whipped round to the sound. I ran to the cover of the wall and when I saw that the door wasn't opening yet I went and stood behind it, gun raised. The door opened slowly and a figure entered both arms full with something, I saw an opening so I attacked. I jabbed him in the ribs making the man spasm, dropping what he was carrying and jumped up and flipped wrapped one leg around his front and over his shoulder flipping him over onto the ground, my foot next to his head, my knee on his chest holding his collar with my fist raised about to deliver the knock-out blow when I stopped,

"Steve what the HELL are you doing?" I asked angrily as he raised his hands in defence,

"Jeez Nat I just went out to get breakfast," he said his eyes wide in shock,

"Don't you ever disappear like that again you hear me, you know that I worry, you can't do that in our line of work," I said not sure if that was for the cover or not,

"Okay, okay I won't leave without telling you again," he said hurriedly his hands still up in defence, "Can you at least lower your fist," he said laughing slightly at my offensive position, I lowered my fist but didn't move,

"You really had me worried Steve what if you had been taken?," I said still trying to remain serious and I thought I was successful in being serious until he snaked his hand around my leg near his head and up around my back before flipping me over so I was under him,

"Don't worry, it will take more than a few gangsters to get rid of me I mean have you met my fiancé?" he said chuckling, his gaze flicking between my lips and eyes. Before he bent down and kissed me, at first I resisted, still angry but then his hand circled around my thigh and he leaned a little closer and I couldn't take it anymore and I kissed him back surprising him I slipped my arms around him and pulled him down even more so and my leg wrapped around his back and he forgot what we were arguing about and I started to sit up, forcing Steve onto his knees and he had one arm supporting himself and the other snaked around into my hair and I had him right where I wanted him. My hand trailed his arm to my hair when I untangled it and then slipped out from under him like lightning, still holding his arm and grabbed his other arm and before he knew it he was face down on the carpet, one arm twisted against his back with my knee pressing into it painfully, his other arm in an arm lock that meant if he moved to much he would dislocate his elbow and shoulder. He chuckled into the carpet and I leant down to whisper in his ear,

"I have met her in fact and I'm fairly certain she wouldn't want you to do it again no matter the circumstance and would advise you that if you tried to get out of it like that again," I said slowly twisting his arm a bit tighter and kissing along his neck before coming back to his ear, "The results could be _dire_," I finished and I felt him shiver beneath me but then I decided to change tactics. I released him and jumped up and acted like the whole thing didn't happen, "So, what's for breakfast?," I asked cheerily. Steve groaned into the carpet and stayed there a moment before jumping up,

"Well, my dear little temptress, we have some pastries, courtesy of the little bakery down the street and a large, black coffee for you and a hot chocolate for me, and three beautiful, fresh mangoes from the market," finished Steve as he pulled out each item of food from thee bag and went over to retrieve the drinks which he had luckily laid on the table before we had had our little… _altercation. _I just sat there dumbfounded he had just said 'little temptress' in Russian. That's right, Russian. I looked up at Steve, confused, since when did he speak Russian? Steve was raised in an era when the relations between Russia and America were far worse than they are now and he is the cookie cutter result of his generation, the fact that he could even work with me was remarkable but that he spoke the language was very surprising to say the least. I watched him return to the room and he looked up when I spoke,

"Since when did you speak Russian?" I asked and the smile wasn't as bright,

"What because of from where I'm from you don't expect me to speak Russian?" he asked hitting the nail on the head immediately, I had forgotten how perceptive Steve was when it came to things that had anything even remotely to do with combat including the art of deduction,

"Well to perfectly honest, yeah, and the fact that you didn't mention it before I find I little odd," I said trying to keep this apart of our cover as much as possible. Steve stopped and started to pack up the food,

"Look I passed a little park on the back from the market maybe we can breakfast there and talk about all of this?" he asked looking at me and then I realised he actually wanted to tell me the absolute truth so I got up and grabbed my coat,

"Sounds great," and we left the room.

Once we made it to the park we found a small picnic table and we sat and Steve started divvying out the breakfast, putting my coffee in front of me, explaining as he did so,

"As you might expect I was raised to hate anything to do with Russia, by my father especially, he was a very opinionated man and thought that I should share those opinions and if I didn't then I was not only dishonouring him but also my country so I kept my views to myself. I was taught to hate certain countries such as Russia and Germany and to live and die for my country, the latter of which I pride myself on as you know. But my mother's mother was Russian, a fact she kept secret from my father. And my mother, she was a very brilliant woman, so she taught me the language and many things about Russia and explained to me that you shouldn't hate the country, only the people that make the bad decisions, I mean Hitler wasn't even German. But that is beside the point. I have spoken Russian for most of my life but I have never told anyone, it was just for my mother and I and now I can share it with you." He finished taking a huge bite of his pastry but still remaining courteous, with a humble smile. I had been eating and listening in silence as Steve told me his story. "So that is how I speak Russian probably not very well as I haven't spoken a word in about 85 years," he said light heartedly.

"Well considering that I don't think you're rusty at all," I replied matching his smile and leaning over to kiss him. Unfortunately the moment didn't last long because as soon as I took my seat we were approached by two men that obviously weren't here for the birdlife due to them both carrying desert eagles in shoulder holsters.

**I know that Steve speaking Russian is a little unorthodox but i thought that having that connection would make them grow even closer and would give them something extra to have in common once the mission was over. I will update soon, thank you so much and please review :D**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey everyone sorry i havent updated in so long i have been trying to decide where to go with the story and i figured it cant be happily ever after just yet but don't worry cos i am no Moffat :P i hope you enjoy the chapter and please review so i have an idea for where to take the story from here.**

CHAPTER 10

The smile fell from my face immediately on seeing them and Steve's brow furrowed in confusion and then he followed my line of sight and out of the corner of my eye it was like he changed into a completely different person, although then again so did I. What I didn't know was that if the different side of me was when I was in the field or with Steve. I was incredibly angry with myself, I had fallen too deep into the cover; I had forgotten who we were dealing with and I had allowed myself to stray into a security with Steve, and now I was dealing with the consequences, we were in the open with hardly any weapons apart from a knife I had strapped to my ankle and then I realised I had gotten so comfortable I had allowed myself to bring a knife to a gun fight. By this time the men had approached us and I could tell Steve had already figured out a way to escape and I had already calculated twelve different ways to kill them simply using their shoulder straps, but then Steve caught my eye and he flicked his eyes over to where there was a car with another man inside further away. Damn. That confirmed they were here to deliver a message, I had my suspicions and I really wanted to act on them, I hadn't realised that I hadn't been in a good fight with more than one man in a while and my skin was itching with adrenaline but I had to remain completely resigned.

"Good Morning, can we help you with something?" asked Steve putting on his American-dream smile as he stood up,

"Mr Gruber wishes that you both would accompany him to an event tonight, a car will pick you up at seven pm, if you do not attend Mr Gruber will see that as a forfeit of your enquires to his business, and he says to say where something nice." Was all the henchman said in a German accent before turning and walking off.

I slowly relaxed my muscles that had tensed and were buzzing in anticipation and then I realised that Steve had stood in front of me his arm slightly extended so I pinched him and he turned,

"Ouch," he said a smile replacing his serious expression, "What was that for?" he asked rubbing his arm,

"Steve Rodgers you were protecting me," I said accusingly, trying desperately to keep a straight face at his reaction to the pinch,

"I was not," he said in a childish tone, once he realised that he had protected the Black Widow,

"You did, I saw you. Captain America protecting Black Widow from a henchman," I said teasingly,

"I wouldn't do such a thing to you, I know that you had probably formulated twenty different ways to kill him before he finished relaying the invitation, he said with a mostly fake worried look. I simply smiled, biting my lip and slipped my arms around his neck,

"28 ways, just with his tie, before he reached the table," I said watching him pale and actually gulp before my defences broke and I smiled and kissed him.

"Now," I said breaking the kiss slightly breathless and trying not to show it, god that man had such an effect on me, "What are we going to where?" I asked coming down from my tip toes.

Two hours later and we were trying on clothes in dressing rooms across from each other in a store. I had already chosen the dress that I was going to wear and hadn't shown it to Steve, I was now helping him pick a suit. He finally emerged from the changing room fiddling with his bowtie,

"I can't seem to get this right for some reason, you sure they haven't changed the design for these things or something?" he asked looking at me with a lost expression. I pushed myself away from the wall I was leaning against and started to tie it for him,

"The design haven't really changed some of them just need to be tied with a bit more… fluidity" I finished and straightened the bowtie I had tied in mere seconds.

"Fair enough," said Steve looking at me in a way that made my skin crawl and then he stopped as immediately as he had started remembering we were in public even though there was no one around.

"So," he said turning to the mirror in front of us, "What do you think of this one?" he said standing tall and with perfect military posture. I didn't answer him at first just watching him and how although at times he tried to hide it from me he really was struggling to be with me at all and that hurt and the fact that it got to me angered me to no end.

"That's perfect," I said with absolutely no emotion. I didn't smile or grimace or do anything but I slipped back into my training and answered him. Steve smiled to himself and looked down at me and I plastered a smile on my face. I went inside the change room that I had been in and grabbed my dress before we left.

When we returned to the room we hung up out garment bags and I turned to Steve,

"I need to teach you how to dance don't I," I said more as a statement than a question. Steve turned to me and raised his hand to rub the back of his neck,

"Uh yeah," he said with a shy smile on his lips,

"Right then," I said still not smiling as I walked to the lounge area and pushed the couch back and he rushed forward to help,

"Let me get that," he said trying to be gentlemanly, but before he could touch it I said,

"I've got it," and put my foot on the cushions and extended my leg forcefully and the couch thudded against the wall, "Now," I said turning to face him and walked up to him and stood a little closer than was necessary to see his reaction which as I suspected was to step back and it just added fuel to the fire. I kept my temper in check though and put my hand in his,

"Now you put your hand on my waist," I said putting his hand a bit lower than necessary on my waist and he coped but he wasn't meant to be coping, I'd thought that after how he had been acting these past few days that he had started to come out of his shell a bit but it seemed like he had just slipped back into it since…since the gunmen had threatened them, which didn't make any sense, he knew she could have taken out all of them without breaking a sweat so why had he suddenly gotten so conservative? "And then I put my hand on your shoulder," I said and then I informed him on the steps, I let him focus for a moment and once he started to get the hang of it I decided that I had had enough,

"Steve why have you gotten so conservative all of a sudden?" I asked, not wanting to hold anything back, and then his head snapped up,

"What do you mean?" he asked confused as we continued to dance slowly,

"It's like since this morning you have become afraid to..overstep your bounds or something. It was like you didn't want me to touch you at the store today and you stepped away from me before," I said,

"Look Nat," he said deciding it was safer to come clean considering last time he had withheld information from me I had him pinned down and Tony was on the floor in fits of laughter, "It's not that I don't believe that you can't look after yourself but the fact that you have to understand is that you shouldn't I mean you shouldn't be in this position and it scares me that you are, you scare me," he finished and I tried to swallow what he had just said.

"So you are telling me that you don't want to touch me because I am a woman?" I asked confused,

"No," he said struggling to find words, "You shouldn't be in this position and neither should I, we shouldn't be here or be together but we are and I think that this morning kinda made me realise that you enjoy being here, you like having a…challenge, an opponent," he finished and then it hit me. He is afraid of _me_. Not for me, but of what I am capable of and that I enjoy what I do probably a little too much. The one thing that makes me who I am and he can't live with it.

"Right," was all I said in return and then I broke the slow dance and grabbed my keys and closed the door behind me gently as I left the hotel to go for a walk.

**There you go that was Chapter 10, i really hoped you enjoyed reading it as much as i enjoy writing this fic. Anyway I thought that i had to venture into the fact that although Steve has no issue with strong women, Natasha really does like what she does and i figured that considering his background it worries him that she is so consumed by what she does and maybe he can help with it. Please, please review and chapter 11 will be up sooner than this chapter with the meeting with Mr Gruber!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey everyone thankyou for your reviews, unfortunately this chapter is rather light on the stasha front however i hope it doesnt discourage you as it is filled with Natasha being a badass so i hope you like it and i promise you will not be disappointed as Natasha has now had some time to sort out a few things, so i hope you enjoy please, please review and VIVA LA NERDOLUTION**

I walked down the hall and when I heard the door open and close behind me and I knew it was him,

"Don't," I said before he spoke and his jog slowed to a walk and when the elevator doors opened I walked, turned to face him and when I finally brought my eyes to his and gave him a death stare close to the ones I give weapon-wielding psychopaths and he faltered and stopped as the doors closed. I made sure I didn't think about anything Steve related on the ride down or as I walked out of the building. I hailed a cab and got inside giving him the address of a S.H.I.E.L.D. location where I could clear my head. I arrived, paid the driver and got out of the cab before it took off leaving me standing on the curb in front of a large warehouse building and I started to relax a bit when I knew this was as close to home as I was going to get at the moment and I went inside. I was stopped when I entered by a burly man in a suit,

"I'm sorry ma'am I am gonna have to ask you to leave the premises as this is private property," I said reaching a hand out in front of him, I looked at his hand,

"Agent Natasha Romanoff," I said looking up at him with a raised eyebrow. The man gulped but stuck to his orders,  
"Unfortunately ma'am going to have to ask you to leave and if you don't then I will have to escort you," he finished starting to fidget under my glare that wasn't as bad as the one I gave Steve. Despite being one of the most renowned agents at S.H.I.E.L.D. many other agents still didn't know me or wouldn't believe me if I said who I was because of my small stature however I didn't have time to deal with this today and the fact that despite being afraid of me, this guy still thought he was better than me got under my skin more than it normally does so I decided to do something about it. I hit his throat so he couldn't speak, jabbed him quickly in the ribs which sent his body into spasm and as he fell I grabbed his arm and twisted so he landed face first and I then put my foot on his shoulder, the heel pressing firmly against his muscle and twisted his arm,

"Send a message to Director Fury telling him I am here and that I need to talk to him or Agent Hill regarding the mission, and don't _ever_ try to touch me again." I finished before I released him and walked down the hall. I pushed open the large, heavy double doors which lead to a huge command room similar to the one on the Helicarrier except this was in a huge warehouse. From where I had entered I saw that this particular base was now being run by Agent Tena. Tena was annoying at best and when she was at her worst, let's just say I had visualised many ways of how to shut her up.

"Agent Romanoff, I don't remember Director Fury saying you would be here," she said with a smug smile because I was on her turf now and it didn't matter how close I was to Fury I was hers now in her eyes. She had absolutely no idea how wrong she was. "If you wait a moment, I will be with you shortly." She said and turned back to her conversation. As soon as she was no longer focused on me I left and headed towards the one place I wanted to go, the gym and then the armoury.

There were about ten people in the gym that were all new trainees from the local area and I knew the instructor. This particular instructor, Jonas, had it in for me since I broke his shoulder after he had called me a filthy Russian, I could have done much worse.

"Ah Romanoff," he said a smirk on his face, "Do you think you could spar with some of the recruits if you promise to go easy that is?" he asked after I had come out of the change room in sweats. I looked him up and down and at the faces of the hopefuls, most of them wouldn't make it as a field agent but I could tell they all hated him, except two guys that were pretty much clones of him,

"Sure," I said in return, a fake smile plastered on my face. Jonas made them pay attention as he flipped me over and pretended to deliver a simple takedown, everyone then partnered off and I was stuck with one of the Jonas clones. He looked me up and down and grinned, I simply rolled my eyes as his eyes drifted over my body,

"Ready?" I asked getting understandably impatient. He looked at me and kept the smug look on his face as he got into position. He went through the motions until he flipped me and didn't get it quite right,

"Make sure not to exert yourself to much," I said kicking myself for agreeing to this,

"Don't you worry about me honey," he said and grabbed my butt. Wrong move. He turned to laugh to the other clone and I pulled myself up using his shoulder, got my legs around his neck and twisted, bringing him tumbling to the floor. My foot kicked out and I stomped down hard on his outstretched arm, pinning it to the floor and wrapped my hand around his neck and I realised everyone had stopped to watch the takedown.

"I have you in a very interesting position at the moment…James," I said looking down at the name on his shirt, "You see I put the tiniest amount of pressure on your windpipe and I can make sure that you never speak again, I could shatter all the little bones in your wrist to the extent that you could never move your right hand again, which I'm sure would put a dampener on your love life. But you know what else I could do James?" I asked and he shook his head in a tiny jerking movement, "No? Well I could also crush your windpipe and you could suffocate to death, or I could snap your neck. Now the neck snapping is special because if I twist just right," I paused to turn his neck to the right so it was exposed, "I might not have to kill you, I could make you paralysed from either the waist or the neck down. Now you may say you could lift your legs and try and get me in a lock of some sort but I can tell you right now. That I have killed enough people to know that I could do at least half of the things I just explained to you before your feet even left the mat. And then I could get up dust off and go and get a cup of coffee and never think about you again because I have killed for a lot less. Now," I leaned in closer so it wasn't as much of a lesson to anyone who was listening and was just for _James_, "If you ever touch me like that again or anyone for that matter and I will personally make. Your. Life. _Hell_." I then got up dusted off as he gulped in air and I then pulled him up from the floor,

"Let that be a lesson to all of you," I said looking at each recruit, "Never underestimate an opponent by their size especially if they are Russian." I finished and walked over to Jonas and flipped him easily over my shoulder and grabbed his arm and put my foot on his shoulder and pressed down. He had snickered when James had made the advance and had scoffed when I had mentioned being Russian,

"How's the shoulder Jonas? It seems to have healed better than your ego and your dislike for my nationality, shall I see if I can re-break it so they can mend altogether?" I asked pressing harder.

"You know I have nothing but respect for you Agent Romanoff," he whimpered into the mat,

"And I for you Jonas," I said as I released his arm and walked off towards the armoury.

**I must admit i had fun writing this chapter, i know it may have been a bit over the top but she is a highly trained assassin and if she if having emotional and relationship issues she is certainly not to be trifled with. I will update soon again please review and i hope you enjoyed the chapter. **


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys I'm so sorry i havent updated in so long but i havent had the chance to write, i hope you enjoy the chapter although i know it is a bit lacking and short, dont worry the next chapter will be action packed so here you go. Oh and please review if you want me to continue updating :D Thanks**

After spending a couple of hours on the range and going through simulations I returned to the change rooms. Tena had come looking for me whilst I was on the shooting range but I had managed to lose her or at least I thought I had until I came out of the change rooms and she was waiting for me.

"So Agent Romanoff I heard you and the Captain are here on a top secret mission from Fury himself." She said crossing her arms and looking me up and down full of jealous contempt but still somehow managing to be smug.

"If you have the clearance to know why I am here then I don't see why you are even asking and if you don't have the clearance then I really don't see why you are asking," I said just wanting to get out of the situation swiftly. Unfortunately it looked like I had struck a chord due to the fact that even though I was an agent and that kept me at a lower level than her I still had a higher clearance than her and if I chose to move up in the ranks I would probably be second to Fury by now. She leaned closer and lowered her voice,

"Just because you are Fury's favourite little lap dog doesn't mean you are going to get special treatment from me if anything it puts a target on your back," she finished, I took a step closer, now invading her space,

"Don't you _ever_ threaten me again, because don't you forget that I have been in those crosshairs far more than you and I have also been the one to aim them and unlike you," I paused and saw the shock on her face, "I. Don't. Hesitate." I finished and saw her swallow, I'd read her file a few years ago and I knew every mistake in her unimpressive career and I knew that I had, if you'll excuse the pun, hit the mark with the last comment. I brushed past her, making sure to say inside her personal bubble but not touching her, and I left walking past the gym, the class watching me in silent amazement I allowed myself the smallest of smiles, good to know I hadn't lost my touch with the recruits, it was then that I walked past a bruising and bandaged security guard who cowered slightly when he saw her, slowly inching away. I am not one to apologize, ever, but I gave him a curt nod and he relaxed slightly and nodded in return. I left the compound and was walking down the street towards the main road, hoping to catch a cab when my phone started ringing. I looked at the caller ID before answering,

"Director," I said into the phone,

"Agent Romanoff, I know you have a…reputation to uphold but really? Must you really attack the guards and insult your superiors? I'm not saying Agent Tena didn't deserve it, I don't know how she made it to head agent, but you still should watch out Agent Romanoff, after New York and Clint's…reaction there are people watching our every move and you know normally I'd tell them where to stick it but this is different and I expect you to start watching yourself," he finished,

"Yes Director, I wanted to contact you to report that Captain Rodgers and I have been invited to an event with a man calling himself Mr Gruber can you give me any information regarding him?" I asked wanting some information so we weren't going in blind,

"Right….Wilhelm Gruber," he began and could tell he was reading his file, "Born in 1932 to Heinz Gruber and his secretary. His father was close to Hitler which lead his to him meeting Schmidt. As we don't know exactly what happened to Red Skull or Hydra after Captain Rodgers crashed the plane we can only assume that that is when Gruber proved himself and flew up the ranks. Watch yourself Agent Romanoff, he didn't make it this far simply on charm he has a fondness for carnage, and red heads it would seem. Now don't let Rodgers prevent you from getting in too much trouble and stop terrorizing the other agents," and with that he hung up.

When I got back to the hotel Steve tried to talk to me, fortunately with one look he got the message that I wasn't in a talking mood. I was in the bathroom when I heard him come and stand in front of the door about to knock and before I let him I just said, "I'll be a while, you should go first and stake out the place and I'll meet you there." And then I heard him walk away.

I emerged from the bathroom in my dress and quickly checked myself in the mirror. The dress itself was floor length and hugged my figure in a way I knew would make him stop dead and it looked like it was made out of blood red rubies. My lips were as red as the dress, my hair looked like flames and I hard dark eyes, I had to admit that I had put in quite a bit of effort with this and I knew it was going be worth it when I saw his reaction. I grabbed my invitation and closed the hotel door behind me and a few moments after ignoring all the stares I got walking through the lobby and the driver of the car having to close his mouth long enough to open the car door for me, I was on my way to meet with Gruber.


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey everyone sorry its been ages, I do hope to keep writing but unfortunely i have been incredibly busy and will be to quite some time, i will update ad soon as i get a chance next time. Just a note this chapter does contain a torture scene so if it is too much i apologize. If something doesnt make sense please tell me as i have written this quite late at night :P Anyway thank you for your continued support and please please please review. I hope you enjoy it!**

Once the car pulled up I realised we were at a gallery opening, similar to the one Loki crashed in Germany except there were famous people here and a lot of photographers, the sort of places I love to avoid but none the less the driver opened the door and without the tinted windows, the bright flooded in.

People started taking pictures because they thought I was some actress, however luckily the cameras flashes subsided quickly when they realised they had got it wrong and that was when I looked up the steps to where Steve was standing with his back to me. Even from 30 meters away I could tell he was nervous and then he turned around and saw me and I knew that my dress had the desired effect. Steve actually had to take a step back to steady himself and as I walked closer I saw how wide his eyes wear and how pale he had gotten. He couldn't take his eyes off of me as I walked and my dress moved in the lights making it look like red water or blood. When I finally reached him I put my hand around his neck and pulled his head down easily to my lips. I kissed him heatedly and he could barely return the kiss and then I broke away, wiped my thumb across his bottom lip to remove some lipstick and walked into the gallery without him and I heard him stumble after me. Who would have thought Captain America could be quite so clumsy.

Once inside I waited for Steve to reach my side before I looped my arm through his and gave my invitation to the security. Steve followed suit and as soon as we had stepped away we were approached. Gruber's men lead us toward a private 'V.I.P' room. Before we went inside I turned to one to the guards,  
"Do you know where I might find the ladies' room?" I asked trying not to sound too much like myself. The man merely pointed to a hall across the gallery and I nodded and said thankyou before heading across the large room, with company of course.

When I reached the bathroom I checked my make up in the mirror before pulling my gun out of the thigh holster and checking it and checking all the knives on my other leg were easy to access. I made sure my hair pins were in place, one of Tony's new designs, and that the bracelet and my engagement ring were fully charged; another of Tony's ideas. When I emerged from the bathroom I merely thrust my arm out with a quick jab to the man's windpipe and a blow to the temple which caused his head to knock against the wall and I left him slumped against the wall, out cold, and I walked away from the bright lights towards the emergency exit.

I made my way onto the roof and was able to peer down through the glass roof into the private room where Steve was being held. In the room there were six men, two by the door, two in the corners and two standing next to Steve. Steve himself had been stripped down to his underwear and was sitting in a chair his hands bound behind his back with metal cables that were bolted securely to the floor and his legs were strapped to the chair in three places by large metal cuffs. His chest was also restrained meaning that they had some serious stuff in mind, or they knew who he was.  
It was at that moment that Gruber entered the room in a tuxedo and holding a cane with a silver skull on top. Once Gruber got to the middle of the room in front of Steve he stopped leaning on the cane and began talking. I strained my ears and I realised he was explaining the story behind the cane and its significance. It started of being rather pointless and I leant nothing about his childhood that I hadn't read in his file and when he said it was a gift from Red Skull I saw Steve's nostrils flare.

"Oh so you have you heard of Herr Schmidt have you?" asked Gruber as he snapped his fingers and one of the guards came forward and accepted the cane as it was handed to him and he removed and then lifted the cloth that was covering the tray he held in his other hand. On the tray was an ice pick and a blowtorch. I tensed and had a sharp intake of breath, this was not going to be easy but I knew that if I went in now it probably wouldn't end so well, I needed them to think that no one was coming for him to give me the upper hand.

"I asked my men to take care of your very pretty friend. She seemed capable so I sent two of my best and told them to have a bit of _fun _with her. I hope you don't mind." He said turning on the blowtorch.

"Your men won't lay a finger on her" said Steve, tremors of rage in his voice and he strained slightly against his restraints.

"Oh Mr Foster unfortunately my men do not have the strictest of morals, although with a girl like that I do not think many men would be able to remain true to their morals, do you not think so?" said Gruber as he turned on the blowtorch and held the ice pick to the flame.

"In my years I have experienced many forms of torture, Mr Foster. I have seen men reach what they thinking to be their absolute breaking point until they realise that they have simply reached their physical boundary. True torture should not hurt a man, he should not be left with simply bloody wounds and no finger nails and such. No Mr Foster, true torture should destroy a man. Physically, and how do you say…psychologically. A man should be pushed to his limits in all senses which is why once I have had some time with you I shall bring in your lovely fiancée and we shall see what I can do with the two of you, because if there is something I do enjoy other than good wine and fine art, it is seeing a man fall apart as I destroy everything that makes him a man. Shall we begin?" finishes Gruber as the pick is now almost white hot. He snaps his fingers again and his men gag Steve. Gruber then advances, grabs him by the hair and pulls back his head, exposing his neck. He drags the ice pick down the side of his face making the skin blister and hiss at its touch,

"Such a waste really, you were so handsome" says Gruber before he stabs Steve in the thigh and Steve screams into the gag, his eyes wide in agony. Gruber then removes the pick before stabbing it vertically through the soft flesh between Steve's collarbone and shoulder blade. He then removes that and whips the pick before he begins heating it again, a sick, twisted smile on Gruber's face, his eyes wide with insane delight. As he was watching the pick get hotter and hotter, the glow lighting up his malicious features he spoke again,

"You know Hydra itself would have loved to make a deal with you and your lovely partner, we could have made a very profitable business deal in which everyone benefitted, because you see it is Baron Kessler's hope to have a very professional business front and to always part with clients on good terms. But don't let the title of baron fool you, Kessler was a General in the Russian army during the Cold War. After his family relocated to Russia our empire expanded exponentially, and Hydra realised that the only way to move forward in this new world was to appear as being a… corporation, I suppose. We have no interest in disrespecting our business partners in any way so I wish to inform you that this is merely a technicality of sorts and that f you had been sincere you would have been greeted with open arms…alas," he said before running the white hot pick up Steve's thigh burning as he went before he quickly stabbed his in the abdomen three times and then I'd had enough. I couldn't watch anymore. I stood up quickly and shot the glass before grabbing onto the window frame and spun down onto a support beam and then jumped down to the ground, landing between the guards in the corners and Gruber. Steve seemed to be the only one who was fast enough to see all of this happen, I pulled out the two hair pins and threw one at each of the guards behind me, hitting them both in the neck I then took out one knife and slit the throat of the closest and shot the other between the eyes. I then shot Gruber in the knee before pulling out two knives and throwing them at the guy holding the tray, I then fired at the two men standing behind Steve, empting the mag. They hit the ground with the shell casings and I then threw away the gun and pulled out two more knives and threw them across the room nailing both guards. I was panting heavily wihen I realised that Gruber was the only one left. I walked over to him and lifted him from the ground and slammed him against the wall.

"See the problem with you Germans is that you always underestimate your opponents, especially if they're women." I looked at Steve over my shoulder and saw he was panting heavily watching me with exhausted eyes. "I should gut you right here like the pig you are, but the problem is I don't think my fiancée would be to happy about that, isn't that right honey?" I asked not looking back, "Oh but don't worry you aren't going to get away with you life, but I do take satisfaction in knowing that in your final moments you got to watch your men die before your eyes in less time it takes you to get out of a chair. See you in hell old man." I finished before my arm shot out and I felt my palm connect with the base of his nose and as I pushed up I felt the cartilage snap and go up to his brain killing him almost instantaneously.

I then let him drop to the floor and took a deep breath before turning around and releasing Steve, helping him up and removing his gag,

"Natasha I'm so sor-" he began but I cut him off with an angry kiss, my hands twisting in his hair, I then pulled back before he even had time to react,

"Don't ever do that to me again" I said before picking up a jacket for him to put on and helping him out of the room.

**So that was chapter 13 im not quite sure where to go as i have a few theories so your opinions are highly sought after and are always taken into consideration. Also i just love how kickass Natasha is dont you? She is just so fun to write, at any any rate please review and i will hopefully update soon.**


End file.
